Hi Suanj and thanks very much for your kind reply. The death certificate is typed in Spanish and the birthplace is given as "Nofalle Italia." I suppose this could be the Spanish name of the town or village, or a typographical or aural error. But the town name is one word.

In another document, titled "Informacion Matrimonial," his place of origin is given as follows (this is mostly handwritten, so my interpretation of the letters and words might be wrong):

it could be NAPOLI??? Reino de Italia=Regno d'Italia=Italy's Reign ... also NUEVA YORC= New York, in italian Nuova York.... you can provide the first name... the surname is AMATO ..OK? son of Domenico and Filomena Fedaldi(?..spell? maybe Finaldi...or Fittipaldi... Tinaldi... or similars) give us any info that you have, regards, suanj

Documents give my ancestor's name as "Pedro Amato." I assume his birth name was Pietro Amato.

Family history states that he emigrated to the USA with his two brothers, Francesco and Antonio Amato. Pedro claims in his Informacion Matrimonial to have been in New York City before going to Aguascalientes, AGS. Mexico in 1888. He would have been 22 years old in that year.

I suspect his ship landed in New York. I don't know when or from where he left Italy, or how long he was in New York before going to Aguascalientes.

Perhaps this will also help. Pedro's mother is variously cited in the documents. She is "Filomena Fedaldi," "Filomena Sposeta," and "Efol Esposita."

BarbaraR: unfortunately the documents are not yet scanned. In the Informacion Matrimonial, Pedro Amato indicates that "Filomena Fedaldi" is his mother. Perhaps the surname is Fidaldi or Jidaldi but the last letter is certainly a dotted "i." The second letter, which I take to be an "e" has no dot above it. Pedro was 27 years old at the time of this Informacion Matrimonial. It's the earliest document I have for him.

"Filomena Sposeta" is on Pedro Amato's death certificate, along with the birthplace name of "Nofalle Italia."

"Filomena Esposita" is given on the son's (Pedro Gonzalez Amato) birth certificate. As Suanj indicated, Esposito is one of Pedro Amato's mother's names.

So why the different names for the mother? I suspect "Fedaldi" (or whatever it is) is Filomena's mother's surname, "Esposito" is the father's surname. Mexico is a matriarchal society. Perhaps the young confused Pedro Amato didn't know what name to use on his Informacion Matrimonial. In any case, I've got two names for the mother. I hope they'll help to piece together Pedro Amato's Italian origins, of which I am completely ignorant.

Suanj: thanks very much for that military record. Do you still have a link to it, or can you tell me how to get it? I couldn't pull it up by Googling the roll number. Also, I can't seem to scroll down to read the bottom of your message. I'll need to play with that.

BarbaraR: Yes, maybe Sposeta will turn out to be the Italian version. I suspect Esposita or Esposito is the Spanish equivalent of Sposeta. But then, someone once told me that "Esposito" is the name Italian nuns gave to their foundlings. More complications.

Hi TigerHawk this is the link of WWI draft reg. card of Pedro Amato jr, save it on your pc http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/27/pedrowwicb1.jpg
I believe that Pietro sr mother surname is right Esposito.... it is very possible that Pietro Amato was born in Napoli.... if he married in 1888 after some period of time in NYC maybe he came in the USA in the 1885 or so... maybe we can find the ship's manifest... but until this moment I no found a pietro with brothers Antonio and Francesco Amato.... so need better luck..! regards, suanj

Suanj, thank you kindly for the image of the son's (Pedro Gonzalez Amato) military record. I've made a donation to the webmaster .

This military record shows that the son was born in San Luis Potosi, S.L.P. and not in El Paso, Texas as some family members wrongly think.

I'd like to clarify the information for the record, because I also made a small mistake in the telling of Pedro Amato's movements. Pedro Amato moved to San Luis Potosi, S.L.P. in 1888 (after having been in New York). He married in San Luis Potosi six years later, in 1894. Two years later, in 1896, he had a son (Pedro Gonzalez Amato), who was born in San Luis Potosi. The small family moved to Aguascalientes, AGS. in 1900. Having worked for the railroad, Pedro ultimately settled on land in Aguascalientes where he established a vineyard, reputedly the first in that region, and cultivated honey bees. This land he opened to public visitors.

It's the beginning of this interesting man's life that is virtually unknown to me. I hope someone will be able to elucidate that part with Italian records.

I found a travel of a Amato family.....Domenico and the wife Filomena, and children: Giovanni, Pietro, Stella.... Pietro was 12 old in the 1881; Domenico 36 old, Filomena 31 old, Giovanni 15 old, Stella 9 old....

According to the death certificate, Pedro [Esposito] Amato died "del dia veintitrei de mayo de mil novecientos cuarenta y sies, ..." [May 23, 1946]. So he would have been born in 1866.

The 12 year old Pietro Amato you cite in 1881 would have been born in 1869. That's a 3-year difference in birth year. Also, as you noted, there's no mention of Francesco or Antonio in the ship's record. I've seen a picture of Francesco, and so I know he's real. I suspect the family history is correct when it states that Pedro came over with his two brothers. I don't know if Domingo and Filomena ever left Italy to join their sons. But they were still alive in 1896 and are mentioned in Pedro Gonzalez Amato's birth certificate.

so Francesco stayed in the USA? never in Mexico? it are many Pietro Amato emigrated and also some Pietro D'Amato... the better thing is to know the probable immigration year... you think that he emigrated abt 1884/5 ?
suanj

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